Books to read before starting a business?

I've read almost everything in this thread and they are all good books for the entrepreneur.

However, since you say you are a technical guy (I consider myself the same) I strongly suggest you read whichever book, blog, or article that addresses the biggest business challenge you currently face.

Since you are feeling a bit overwhelmed E-Myth and The One Minute Manager are great for helping you deal with that.

This is off topic, but I also STRONGLY SUGGEST you spend an hour or two with a good small business accountant and maybe another hour or two with a small business lawyer. This will be money very well spent. People told me this early on, but I never took the advice. I wish I did.

• The E-Myth. If nothing else, read this.

My top 3 is:

• Steve Blank: the four steps to the epiphany (founding book of customer development from which is inspired The Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Development Roy Dictus mentionned)
• Clayton M. Christensen & Michael E. Raynor : The innovator's solution
• Jack Trout and Al Ries : Marketing Warfare

See sum-up of each book on my blog: http://summoning-dreams.blogspot.com/search/label/books

Great Question! Here is my list.

1. The Book of Proverbs from the Bible, I read the New King James Version.

2. Competitive Strategy by Michael E. Porter. This book will teach you how to analyze markets at the industry level. The Porter 5 forces is legendary. It's a part of the business lexicon. Every consulting firm uses it, and all businesses need it.

3. Kellogg on Marketing. This is a must-read! Peter Drucker says that the goal of every business is to create a customer, and the only ways to create a customer is through INNOVATION and MARKETING.... period. Read Kellogg on Marketing and you'll have one-half of the equation down.

4. Anything and Everything written by Peter F. Drucker (as in all of his books, there's no book called anything and everything). He is the Godfather of the Consulting Profession and his books (all 39 of them) are loaded with case studies.

5. Make yourself an expert in your industry. Read every journal, book, blog, article, and magazine related to your industry. Remember that innovation always stems from knowledge of industry and knowledge of customer. Stay in the know!

Good Luck.

For startup particularly I found those one interesting:

The knack

fantastic for understanding the essence of street smart

The 4 hour week

for getting your life back

Rich dad, poor dad

understanding while being a worker is not good a long term strategy

I would also recommend more "formal" educational books like Inventor's Dilemma and Solution already mentioned.

Read this book

personal mba - http://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-Master-Art-Business/dp/1591843529 also emyth is great. Also theres a book by felix dennis - How to Get Rich. That book has some amazing advice.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper by David Siteman Garland

I just finished this book last week, it was a quick read and had some great ideas regarding promoting products, networking, and building a good strong presence on and offline with potential customers and people that matter in your space.

The content is easy for a beginner to understand and implement, and an advanced person will probably learn something new from it as well.

I am a huge believer in Seth Godin's philosophy. I read his blog, which is very inspiring. He is someone who understands what the consumer wants, which may help you develop your business strategy. I found some of his books better than most others. 'Linchpin', 'The Purple Cow' and 'Tribes' to name a few.

I advise you to also watch his videos on you tube. He has a technology background and started his own start up. He went through the same growing pains most start ups do. Good Luck!

Check these books out :

Success Built to Last : This book is written based on research and interview several built-to-last people. You can know how they think, how they react to their failures and etc. Built to Last : It is same as above. It is written based on research of several company which is survived for more than 50 years. It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be : A good book which teach us how we face failures. Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite : This book teaches us how to think.

I suggest to you Richard branson's autobiography if only for inspiration and enjoying the process because entrepreneurship is about having fun too, also this list is useful :

• The Fountainhead By Ayn Rand

• Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change By Kent Beck

• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days

• Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition